Will Thompson, director of Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Tokyo, doesn’t personally know gymnast Simone Biles, but knows what a great problem for elite athletes like her can be, making your sport your identity. The pressure to succeed at all costs is one of the great dangers for anyone who sacrifices time, relationships, and money, in order to become the best of the best. Us normal folks only see their crowning glory, an Olympic gold medal, or multi-million-dollar endorsement contracts. But what we don’t see is the toll it takes on their souls. The secular version is called ‘mental health.’ But for Thompson, he knows that behind the clinical term is a spiritual longing. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Thompson talks about how FCA’s ministry’s outreach to athletes of all ilk, is to lead them to Jesus Christ, as the only love that can truly satisfy. Because for elite athletes, or elite anything… musician, actor, architect, finance genius… their craft becomes their fundamental trust and their identity. Biles’ pulling out of competition at the greatest athletic event in history, is an example of someone who was brave enough to say, ‘there’s something more important.’ It’s the cautionary tale so many athletes like Biles, Naomi Osaka and Michael Phelps are recognizing. For Thompson, it, “sheds light upon the need for spiritual fulfillment and also spiritual care for these athletes.”
